The 48th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans kicked off the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) season with a dramatic and rain-soaked showdown between Kawasaki and Yamaha that saw current EWC Champion Yamalube YART EWC Official Team come away the victors.
YART took pole position thanks to Marvin Fritz’s new lap record, although the Austrian squad found themselves on the back foot almost immediately when Fritz crashed at the Dunlop chicane on the first lap, dropping them to 21st overall.
“It was the craziest race I ever did in this championship,” said Fritz. “This was the first time I had rain at Le Mans and even if it was not always raining it was very tricky conditions with many crashes. I went down twice, but we were lucky. The bike was great, the tires for sure, we had a really good package, and my team worked fantastic. So many things can happen in this championship, that’s why it’s so interesting. We were waiting for this win for a long time. It’s my ninth year with YART and I finished here four times second and once third. We’ve been very close very often; it was a long dream for me and for the team and each single person.”
Despite the setback, Fritz, along with teammates Karel Hanika and Australian newcomer Jason O’Halloran, mounted a sterling comeback as rivals faltered.
As night fell and rain intensified, multiple top contenders suffered crashes or mechanical issues. One of the most dominant performers throughout the night was Kawasaki Webike Trickstar with riders Gregory Leblanc, Mike Di Meglio and Roman Ramos Alvaro, who inherited the lead during the eighth hour and maintained control of the race deep into Sunday morning.
However, with just under an hour remaining, disaster struck. A sudden downpour hit the circuit once again, and Ramos Alvaro lost control at the final Raccordement corner leading onto the start-finish straight, crashing while holding a two-lap lead. Though the bike was recovered, and the team managed to rejoin, the incident handed the lead—and ultimately the win—to YART.
“At one point, the win felt so close – almost in our hands,” Ramos said. “All we had to do was bring it home steadily, no issues with the bike, nothing going wrong… and we would’ve had it. In the end, we finished second, which, honestly, if you’d offered me that before coming here, I’d have taken it without hesitation. I wasn’t even supposed to race; I’m the fourth rider this season, and I only got the chance because Christian [Gamarino] got injured. So, to end up on the podium? I’m super-happy. But of course, after leading the race for almost the entire time, losing it in the final hour stings a little. That said, I think we did a great job. We gave everything we had to try and win. The good thing is we’re in a position to fight for it, and we’ll see what my teammates can do in the next rounds. I really think it’s possible to go for it.”
YART’s victory marks only their second win at Le Mans, their first since 2009.
Kawasaki Webike Trickstar finished second, with third place claimed by ERC Endurance BMW with riders Illya Mykhalchyk, Kenny Foray, David Checa and Julian Puffe.
“At the beginning of the week, if you told me I would be on the podium I would sign directly,” said Kenny Foray. “It was really tricky and, after two stints, I thought maybe it’s better to be at my home in front of my TV. We discovered the Dunlop tire in the wet for the first time in the race, but we don’t crash, which was the first victory because it was so crazy. I’m very happy for my team and for my teammates.”
The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team of Markus Reiterberger, Sylvain Guintoli, Steven Odendaal and Hannes Soomer took fourth, a good result considering the team suffered several unscheduled pit stops due to electronics issues and a minor crash in the night.
Maxxess by BMRT3D Pirelli Motul took fifth followed by Yoshimura SERT Motul, which recovered from several crashes to head home Dunlop-equipped Superstock category winner National Motos Honda FMA.
In the Superstock class, the National Motos Honda FMA team of Valentin Suchet, Guillaume Raymond and Johan Nigon emerged victorious after a battle with the second-placed Dafy-RAC41 Honda team of Chris Leesch, Kevin Manfredi, Takeshi Ishizuka and Diego Poncet, with third in class going the 3ART Best of Bike Yamaha with James Westmoreland, Doriano Vietti-Ramus, Jan Mohr and Alexy Negrier on board.
“It’s been an incredible race and it’s incredible to win this race two times in a row,” said Suchet, after helping National Motos Honda to back-to-back Superstock wins. “To be honest we all suffered but everybody did a fantastic job.”
Teammate Guillaume Raymond added: “The most difficult thing was to stay on the bike and avoid making any mistakes. We were first for quite long time, but we had to keep our concentration at the highest level possible.”
Dafy-RAC 41-Honda completed the top 10 despite late drama when the chain fell off in the closing hour.
Of its late drama, Dafy-RAC 41-Honda rider Chris Leesch, explained: “The broken chain came in to give an extra pinch of adrenalin but it happened at the exit of Garage Vert so Kevin [Manfredi] had to push quite a bit to get the bike back in time but he did well so we managed to save second place [in Superstock].”
Previous EWC champions F.C.C. TSR Honda France with riders Alan Techer, Corentin Perolari, Taiga Hada and Loris Baz endured a tough race with repeated technical issues and a crash that set them back. The team would eventually finish eighth overall.
The first round of the inaugural FIM Endurance World Trophy for entry-level production motorcycles was won by Team Super Moto Racing ahead of ARTEC. But having dominated qualifying, Green Team 42 Lycée Sainte Claire suffered early misfortune with a heavy crash.
“It’s just amazing to be on the first step of the podium,” said Team Super Moto Racing rider Cyril Leroux. “We cannot expect to be there at the beginning of the week, but we managed the race. My team manager asked us to bring back the bike at each stint and we only made one mistake, only one crash at the Raccordement. For the other stints it was almost perfect. That’s why we finished on the first step.”
Of the creation of the creation of the FIM Endurance World Trophy, a new initiative from EWC promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and governing body, Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, Leroux said: “It will allow to bring some other teams that don’t have the budget to be in Superstock or EWC. That’s why it’s a super idea.”
The next round of EWC 2025 heads to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the 8 Hours of Spa Motos on June 7. CN
2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Results
OVERALL
1. #7 YART – Yamaha (EWC) 24:00:11.469
2. #11 Kawasaki Webike Trickstar (EWC) 24:01:49.359
3. #6 ERC Endurance #6 (EWC) 24:00:12.898
4. #37 BMW MOTORRAD WORLD ENDURANCE TEAM (EWC) 24:01:05.161
5. #24 MAXXESS BY BMRT 3D (EWC) 24:01:10.711
6. #1 YOSHIMURA SERT MOTUL (EWC) 24:00:54.993
7. #55 NATIONAL MOTOS HONDA FMA (SST) 24:01:23.547
8. #5 F.C.C. TSR Honda France (EWC) 24:01:24.222
9. #8 Team Bolliger Switzerland #8 (EWC) 24:01:03.325
10. #41 Dafy-Rac 41- Honda (SST) 24:01:10.785
11. #36 3ART BEST OF BIKE (SST) 24:01:09.159
31 222 Team Supermoto Racing (PRD) 24:01:35.822
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